Viva Italia

Viva Italia

Apr 18, 2015 4:00 PM –
6:00 PM

Have you ever wondered what church music was like in Rome during the 1600’s? Many of Europe’s most famous Renaissance and Baroque composers lived and worked in Rome during this time, like Tomás Luis de Victoria, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina and Giacomo Carissimi. Others, like Marc-Antoine Charpentier, traveled from across Europe to study there and learn from the practices at Roman churches and others like Giovanni Felice Sances were born in Rome and spent their formative years learning there before making careers across Europe. All of the above named composers were connected to the Collegio Germanico in Rome, the Vatican’s training center for German-speaking priests. This conflux of talent led to a golden age of sacred music in Rome and the emergence of creative performance practices that have remained relatively unknown. For instance, the Sistine Chapel was such a renowned authority on sacred music that we still assume Renaissance music should be performed without instruments, as it was by the Cappella Sistina. However, the Collegio Germanico and many other churches in Rome were beginning to add instrument doublings to their performances in the late 16th century and throughout the 17th century – so much that people started referring to this practice as the “uso di Roma,” or the “use in Rome.”

Come hear this spectacular music for choir, soloists, strings, and brass instruments in the grand acoustics of Duke Chapel at the Duke Vespers Ensemble spring concert on Saturday, April 18th at 4:00 pm. This concert will be presented in collaboration with Mallarme Chamber Players and the Washington Cornett and Sackbutt ensemble. Tickets at tickets.duke.edu or by calling 919-684-4444. Tickets will also be available at the door.